Information & Economics

Hey everyone out there …hope life has been treating you well and you are all set for a better year round the corner.

Hope that none of the recessionary effects of this year spill over to the next year and waiting to see how our changed policies or better (so they say) regulations have acheived stability.

I was originally planning to write about cloud computing, but with the new year coming it made sense for me to re-look at my own spending and perhaps how it all boils down into the bigger picture.

On that note i have started an essay on the role of information in economics, as i researched and googled this evening i found that this is indeed a very pertinent subject and someone has been granted a nobel prize on the subject. This is also a vindication as to my direction of thought, but of course the professor beat me to it.

The essay is going to take me sometime to prepare as i might need to study economic models and the role of information in the market today. Do visit again and i promise it will be worth your while.

So till the next essay, stay tuned, eat healthy and do comment!

SCRIBD Reading touches 1087 reads!

Another cool news is that my SCRIBD reading has touched a total of 1087 reads which is more than i expected!

Way to go 1000+ reads so far!

Watch this space for more news on that front.

Weekly post and whats to come !

Hello there,if you are in India right now and reading my BLOG then you must be stuck in a room with a laptop with the monsoon outside lashing away at everything in its path.

Yes folks, the monsoon is here and how! Chennai is putting up a brave front against heavy rainfall and trying to keep calm. I was glad to see people out and about drinking lots of tea and coffee and getting nostalgic.

Did i say nostalgic? yes the rains have a way of influencing our state of mind. From purposeful thinking to deciding on which technology toy to invest in; we all have our various streams running.

So what else is happening in my world, for one thing i have started work on my ,new article something technical this time. Cloud computing is one area that has caught my interest recently and i want to follow this new paradigm.

Apart from that am busy studying for a course at work and have my fingers in many pies , nothing new there. Looking forward to some much needed R&R in december.

come back soon and you can read something about cloud computing

Ciao till then!

Perfect, where i am.

Perfect, where I am.

Is this a title reflective of my pride, am I indulging my ego here? Or am I exhibiting higher levels of self-esteem? Hardly, but it did get your attention and that was my only intention. it’s a powerful statement and its simplicity can fool you easily.
As children we all went through different phases, phases where we feel so influenced by a life style or a person that we truly want to be there in that situation or be more like that person. Iconic or flamboyant, powerful persona or irresistible beauty we have been entranced by other people. We don’t want to be like them, we want to be them.

Be true to yourself, I am sure you have felt this way too at some point unless of course you belonged to the second category. In school I wanted to be popular and admired, I wanted to be like the topper who not only scored phenomenal marks but also drove home in a new car with extremely good looking parents. In my eyes at the time, they could be anything they wanted. They were the cynosure of all eyes and of course every teacher adored them.
Where was I between all this? I was the clumsy, gawky tom-boyish old soul with frightfully curly hair and big eyes. Don’t get me wrong, I had friends and could manage to garner enough attention if I wanted to. But I didn’t like myself much, I always wished to be more like someone else. Did I voice this out loud? No.

I slowly slipped into my burgeoning persona and didn’t change tracks, despite everything. I had a whole love-hate relationship, a constant tug of war between who I thought I wanted to be and who I really was.
There are different kinds of pressures we face, irrespective of age we all have to gain acceptance and approval from society or our extended families. This extended till college time and somehow I did manage to make the transition from school to college. Things sort of naturally fell into place, at least for a year. I joined in for a course in Physics to buy some time to pursue my larger dreams.

That year was exciting and probably gave me a glimpse of what college life was really about. There were plays and activities to look forward to and competitions and I also managed to get nominated as the “class rep” which was no mean achievement.
This was all short lived though and my engineering entrance tests came around fast, soon I was plunged into a different world. The first day was intimidating to say the least, four years were spent completely immersed in getting millions of Xerox copies and buying books from every nook and corner of Madras.

Not much fun, but I slowly realized that I could push myself more and more with each year. With endless supply of coffee and my mothers amazing patience we made it through this long tenuous period. My grades were great and I knew I had to find a job on my own.
At every point what I realized is that we are placed in the exact position for a take-off. We can understand and accept the opportunities life presents us by placing us where we are or we can always keep wondering what the other side is all about.
What I like to do is accept my present but always visualizing my future from where I am. From this vantage point I am perfectly placed.
We are where we are because it’s the choices we ourselves have taken. I would not go back and change anything, the hardship or my self-hate teenage period. I am comfortable in my skin and that’s what has taken so long. Am i done learning or transforming, No but i am ready for change as and when it comes.
Enjoy who you are and where you are and then visualize and extrapolate it to where you would like to see yourself.

Weekly Post !

This week was tough week, challenging my body to keep up with my mind. Exhaustion crept in slowly and steadily and by mid week it was a game of wits to feel charged about the new day ahead.

 What keep’s us going ultimately?

 I have no idea, lets leave it to the fact that we probably underestimate our body as well as our mind most of the time. Nothing fantastic came out of the ordinary, maybe we don’t know yet what the human limit is.

One thing I have learnt though is the best way to tackle such situations, by keeping it simple.

Eat right, sleep well, take the time to enjoy the coffee, take a minute to enjoy that fresh morning breeze trying to make its way through all the humdrum and noise of life. Enjoying the simple things, I love smelling freshly washed linen, oranges, fresh vegetables stacked in shelves with a trace of the wet mud in them, new paper and ink.

These simple every day things can do wonders for us. Just by staying positive and simple, one can really rejuvenate oneself. Is this the solution to everything, I don’t know yet. However I have an open mind so I will explore It and give it a chance. You should too.

It was a good week creatively too as I came up with two new ideas, stay here for more on those two new essays on my BLOG.

Paper-cut : The Art of Working

The Art of Working

Is working an art form? If yes then those who love what they do have done wonderful things with it and made it an art form. I originally wanted to title this article “Happiness at work” but then it would make the skeptical and cynical lot turn away and not give it the time of the day.

Drudgery, mundane, suffering are these the definitions for work?

Read the next sentence slowly and carefully, its easy I promise.

We can be the best at what we do and yet not care about it.

Is this possible? From the nine years that I have been working my opinion is that its not possible, not by a long shot. Its when we cherish what we do and allow ourselves to become a channel for all our positive energy and talents that work transcends to the next level. Ok, I know what everyone is thinking now, this person is a workaholic. Work has changed over the centuries; whether its building a pyramid or bridges, civilizations have had their foundations built on, you guessed it – Hard work! Evolution progressed because we got tired of sitting and waiting for the next disaster? Ok I made this last one up.

So how can we make work, work for us.

I think the key to making work, work for us is first finding the right motivation, lending it energy by believing in ourselves and finally watching it influencing others and slowly and steadily building a positive work environment. There are times when we all need some kind of re-assurance about the larger picture, what am I doing and what is my purpose here? No matter how cynical one is we all ponder over this. I read a book a few years ago written by the Dalai Lama and Dr Howard C Cutler and the book focused on transforming dissatisfaction at work.

They delved into many areas and for this article I will focus on three of them that matter to us.

What is my purpose here?

 

 

 

 

Ripples in water travel from inside to the outside, this is common knowledge. So also anything to do with our environment begins from us extending outwards. Its wrong to assume that if we keep quiet and just go from day to day, we don’t affect our environment and the greater purpose. Something motivates us all, for some its success, for some its remuneration and for some just getting by is fine. However the key here is not about judging people for their various motivations, its to use them to somehow mutually benefit one another. Any work environment is like a breathing organism and its fuelled by the input we give it. Understand what motivates you but also understand how your motivations affect your immediate environment.

Its this understanding that can build a cohesive team, not everyone in the team will have the same attitude or the same mindset.

Conflicts are common in the workplace, the lines often blur between what one has to do and not do. When In doubt, discuss it, talk about it constantly and raise a flag. Let your team know that there is a genuine conflict that’s bothering you and possibly affecting your performance.

Its difficult to change peoples mindset, because their circumstances make them who they are. What we try to do is ensure that we have tried 100% to correct the situation.

Survival

 

 

 

 

Some of us work to survive, we do it to take care of all our priorities and responsibilities. This is not wrong, why shouldn’t survival be a motivation at work?

But what if we are so humbled and weakened by the need to get by we don’t realize what we are really capable of. Most often than not people are performing at less than true potential.

What does it take to unlock this potential? Here is where the team and mentors come in, recognize and reward this person and give them a reason to believe in themselves. It will take time to see that person reach their optimum level, but the team will one day realize what a powerful being they have in their midst.

　

Productivity and Happiness

 

 

 

 

We take meaning from so many things in our life, what’s wrong in taking meaning from work. If someone told you that by just getting up and getting to work, you could win a lottery, wouldn’t you do it and with renewed vigor?

No, this is not a philosophical treatise or a sermon. Look beyond the obvious to realize the key to being happy and productive. Look at how you get to meet and observe other fantastic people, people from different cultures, different thought processes. You gain confidence and realize that this is a relationship not a bondage. Every relationship deserves to be nurtured and it takes commitment to see the benefits. Look at this way, just by believing in it and watching it grow, it will turn around and be there for you when you feel cornered. Work is not your nemesis, its not something you have to do. Work is not a punishment, it’s a way of being.

　

So take away a message from this article or not, but I hope you did it give it some thought.

Here is a quote from Sam Ewing and I think it’s a nice way to end this article

“Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don’t turn up at all.”

 

 

 

 

Paper Cut -September 13, 2009

Whew! An exhausting week to say the least, I started too many personal campaigns this week. A campaign to get fit and stick to a proper, nutritious diet. A campaign to organize and manage my time better and a campaign to make sure I get some writing done. Of course in between all this I was spending a lot of time at work, double whew!

Did I bite off more than I can chew? Yes and no.

First the bad news, at least for me. My protein level is low and my BMR(basal metabolic rate) has been reduced by 15% and this is the root cause of my eating problems. I have started eating like a bird, funny ha? The problem is that I cannot eat more than a certain amount at a particular meal-time. The idea is to distribute the food making sure you get a balanced amount of proteins and carbohydrates. Here is another issue I have, ever since I gave up on meat and the like, I just didn’t get enough fiber and carbohydrates. So I need to eat tofu, egg whites and cottage cheese. Not a tall order, I also need to bring in some nuts, greens and sprouts as well.

The good news is that I know exactly what is wrong and how to correct it so wish me luck in getting it right! Enough about me though, do comment if you have any interesting thoughts on fitness and eating, make sure its funny or I wont approve (just kidding).

Well more on the title and what this weeks BLOG topic is all about, from now on if I have to reflect on something close to home I would call it a paper cut!

This weeks paper cut is a reflection from childhood days, there are people who influence you even if they have not been around for very long. One such person was an uncle of mine who migrated to Germany at a very young age, he had very little help when pursuing his grandiose plans, but he had a dream. That dream was big enough for him to pursue a career in aeronautics.

He would visit us in bi-yearly periods, often for very short intervals and all I can remember is a tall, shy gentleman with a fascination for planes. He would bring me these plastic inflatable planes in bright orange or yellow and I could spend hours with them on the terrace. I would watch them with great awe, as they flew across the pale sky. They held my mind captive more than the chocolates or perfumed soaps.
I imagined that I would fly one day and I always remember him when I board a plane.

Later we would spend a quiet but nice family meal, my mom would make the best biryani and home made Pista and almond Burfi’s. I would sit awkwardly, waiting for him to ask me something and I would do my best to give a smart answer, something brilliant so that he would notice me. I was in awe of him of course and to this day I always compare most men I meet with him.

My first introduction to German culture was through him, I learnt my first german word “Strasse” for street and how warm and succulent apple strudel could be from him. Big jugs of dark beer being passed in during “October Fest”, Fancy Volkswagen cars and lot of snow during Christmas. He would write these big letters to us and just seeing the words “Par Avion” in purple dye across the top of the envelope was exciting. I always imagined him sitting in a big chair in his living room, writing he had a beautiful little home which looked like it was straight out of a fantastic winter getaway brochure.

He worked for such companies like Saab and Dornier and at one point I almost imagined I would want to be a pilot and a aeronautical engineer like him. That got lost somewhere though, but anyway I cant imagine not writing a little about him in my BLOG. So I did, in fact one day maybe I would get to visit and see Zurich with my own eyes. Till that day, “Guten Tag” my friends and keep reading.

SCRIBD reads going north !

Hey back to my dashboard, hope all is well in your world my fellow readers and writers.
While i prepare for my next topic i thought i would mention that i just discovered 358 reads have been registered for all the writing i published in SCRIBD. Thats encouragement!
Now let me get back to that topic and do visit and read tomorrow.

Growing up ..

This week i thought i would publish an extract of my collection of essays on SCRIBD and place one of the essays here as well. So here it is

Foreword
How do I invite you to a conversation, to a reflection of things that were and things that might be.
Since we don’t know each other, let me start the old fashioned way, by inviting you to a dinner party.
There will be great food, the hors d’oeuvres are well thought of and maybe the salad will be crisp and flavorful, maybe we wont spill anything on ourselves. Dinner will be a rich south Indian meal , with delectable coconut curries ,rice vegetables roasted, meats marinated with a good mix of yoghurt and masala’s. I may not partake of the meat but will definitely join you for the rice and curry. Pardon my south Indian upbringing but the meal is just not complete without pickles and papadams. So we will try to savor a bit of the mango as well as the lime and hope we do not set ourselves up for painful mouth ulcers overnight. Now that our bellies our full, we simply sip on the drinks and realize that we are ready for some conversation and to share our thoughts, although a good siesta also crosses one mind.

I promise you that you can get back to that siesta too, but not too soon.

Life is a little like what just happened, good things trickle in one by one, in fact sometimes they do in bigger portions, its just that we ignore the little joys of life. We want everything to be big, visible and talked about, but that’s just it, things happen sometimes in bits and pieces and we should be able to appreciate that too. I thought the best way to get you to read is to start with food, it’s a great conversation starter.

These essays were simply means of self-expression, sometimes cathartic and sometimes simply to savor a happy moment with words. They might be a hodge-podge of experiences but there is a pattern emerging from it, almost like looking into a kaleidoscope, varied and colored pieces seem to magically lend themselves to mosaic patterns. These patterns are there in life, we need to recognize them and not be overwhelmed by the complexity but assimilate it all and gain a greater appreciation of everyone and everything around us.

Growing up

We are always in pursuit, don’t ask me why or what. it’s something we start innocently by pursuing crayons and paper as children, we become hyper versions of Monet and Salvatore Dali as we paint and sketch and color any physical medium we can find. Water colors, oils and acrylics and wax all tease us and lure us into the wonderful world of colors. Then it stops, almost as soon as It began, we pursue alphabets and numbers and big words and concepts and strangers telling us what to do. School begins, to children the teachers are these big monsters who wont take no for an answer.

Don’t get me wrong, there have been great teachers in my life, amazing people who managed to influence me at the tender age of three. I think it’s the toughest job, its easy for a high flying executive to impress a board room filled with adults, showing them charts and presentations. But imagine capturing the fascination of a little child, it takes more intelligence than one can think of.
Within no time at all the reality of life starts ascending on us, things are no longer simple, the lives of the people we love inevitably tangle with ours and we are caught. Caught between beginning the cycle of acceptance into society and balancing the expectations of our parents.

We go from being worried about having to bathe twice or getting our favorite biscuits to the big three of money, housing and food, incidentally my favorites were embassy cream and the vanilla traffic signal pastry. The traffic signal pastry had three blobs of jam, red, green and yellow and the vanilla cake melted in the mouth. I also loved my after school potato bonda and bun, for a rupee I could buy pure moments of joy. How can I forget the calcium pieces sold as cheap candy for 50 Paise we could get enough to last the evening. We pursued candy of all shapes and colors, from multi-colored Poppins to the ultimate joy of Cadburys. This pursuit was a little expensive as it later led to extensive root canals and tooth-popping.

Next began the fascination of pets, road side pups would do just fine. I had to take care though that we didn’t indulge the pups when the “mother” was in the neighborhood. This didn’t help as every now and then I would get bitten, a few tetanus shots later I learnt my lesson. Even though the pups looked cute they were not worth the pain of the shot.

Then came education and the pursuit of better marks and competition and head-ache inducing home-work. Till about the age of ten I succumbed to the needs of society in being a model child, hmm at least from the “get the best report card in town” perspective. Come the age of eleven and it was rough going, I didn’t understand what the rush was, or why I had to jump in and join the race. I rebelled and managed to get bad marks, I somehow didn’t like the fact that all of a sudden I had to go from being a child to a teen-ager. I didn’t understand my teachers either, I wanted to be out and about, read literature and explore the world around me.
I was rudely introduced to science and mathematics, both of which I came to love dearly and pursue vehemently. But my first meeting with them did not go so well, all the equations and algebra simply made my head spin and I decided that I was not ready to welcome these two in my life just yet. Their turn would come.

At thirteen I came across some wonderful teachers who inspired me and brought me tenderly into their fold. I enjoyed going to school and loved doing my home-work. This changed everything, I wanted more and more of the joy that I gained from learning. I did rebel on occasion because I didn’t understand that I was changing from a child into a young lady, I could not find solace in childish things anymore. The world was closing in on me, this was what I felt.

The one thing that really stayed with me from then on was my love for reading, I loved to read and attempted some amateur writing as well. Scholastic achievements aside I wanted the world to see me for who I really was. Maybe I matured at a very young age and knew who I was and what I wanted to be. I am an old soul, perhaps.
The one thing that all this has taught me, don’t stop doing what you love because it may or may not be accepted. Do it for yourself and even if things take time to materialize, go easy and it will come to you one day.

I, Write

If you have been following all my BLOG topics, you would have realized that i also publish some of my writings on SCRIBD. Please come join my book club and we can talk/review published content from other amateur writers like me ..or maybe a experienced writer may come visit too.

http://www.scribd.com/group/80476-the-madras-book-club